Vern Krishna

Mr. Krishna – CM, QC, FRSC, LLD, FCGA – is a law professor at the University of Ottawa and is Tax Counsel with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. He was educated in England, Canada, and the United States in Economics, Accounting, Business, and Law. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from Manchester University, an MBA and LLB from the University of Alberta, a Diploma in Comparative Law from Cambridge University, and a Master's in Law from Harvard University.

He is a barrister and solicitor (Ontario) and Queen’s Counsel. He is also a Fellow of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2004 and selected as Professional Man of the Year by the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce in 2002. He is listed in Lexpert’s Directory of Best Lawyers in Canada, both in the area of tax and trust law.

He has been involved in various capacities in a wide range of activities. He was the Executive Director of the National Committee on Accreditation for 27 years and was responsible for the credentialing of foreign-trained lawyers who wished to practice in Canada. He has been an Adjudicator on Boards of Inquiry under human rights legislation (Ontario) and was a Commissioner of the Ontario Securities Commission (1994-1997).

He was a Visiting Scholar in International Tax at the Harvard Law School, where he taught in the International Tax Program. He was the Treasurer (President) of the Law Society of Upper Canada from 2001-2003, and President of the Certified General Accountants Association (Ontario) from 1995-1996.

He has published 12 books, including A Treatise on the Fundamentals of Canadian Income Tax. He serves as the Managing Editor of the Ontario Reports and Canadian Current Tax, and is a regular contributor to various newspapers (The National Post, etc.) and professional journals (Lawyers Weekly, Law Times of Canada, Bottom Line, etc.).